http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29777589
26 October 2014 Last updated at 11:38
![]()
Twenty-four European banks fail EBA stress test
Twenty-four European banks have failed stress tests of their finances, the European Banking Authority has announced.
The banks now have nine months to shore up their finances or risk being shut down.
They include nine Italian banks, three Greek banks and three Cypriot banks.
The health check was carried out on 123 EU banks by the EBA to determine whether they could withstand another financial crisis.
The review was based on the banks' financial health at the end of 2013.
Many of them have taken measures to bolster their balance sheets in the meantime.
The worst affected was Italian bank Monte dei Paschi, which had a capital shortfall of €2.1bn (£1.65bn, $2.6bn).
'Robust' exercise
At the same time, the European Central Bank (ECB) carried out an overlapping survey of 130 banks.
The ECB said 25 banks had failed its test, but 12 of those had already taken remedial action.
The European Commission welcomed the results of the EBA and ECB assessments.
It said they had been "robust exercises, unprecedented in scale and among the most stringent worldwide".
"Yet there is no room for complacency," the Commission said in a statement.
"Rigorous and timely follow-up actions to the results of the exercises will be absolutely crucial," it added.
Analysts said the results of the tests were much as expected. "The first impression is that there are few surprises," said Max Anderl of UBS Global Asset Management.
"The document refers to many of the 'usual suspects', mainly in Greece, Portugal and Italy," he added.
